1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording solution for ink jetting used in an ink-jet printer.
2. Discussion of Related Art
An ink-jet printer prints letters, figures and pictures on paper by emitting ink through a small nozzle. Aqueous or nonaqueous recording solutions for ink jetting are known but basic characteristics which are required of such solutions are as follows;
they should be stable for long-term keeping quality and should not cause choking in an ink-jet printer;
they should be capable of being smoothly and securely fixed on image-recording material (paper, film etc.), and should provide clear images and little bleeding around printed dot-images;
printed images should be clear tone and high density;
printed images should be excellent in water resistance and light resistance;
they should not stain peripheral devices around a recording solution (e.g., container, connecting tube, sealing materials etc.) dirt;
should be excellent in safety, that is, have no smell, no toxicity and no flammability;
aqueous ink should have little smell and toxicity and be excellent in safety, i.e., it should not be flammable.
However because the ink contains an aqueous dye, printed images are influenced by the dye. Therefore the ink is poor in water resistance and light resistance. In order to avoid such problems, a pigment is used instead of the dye. It is, however, difficult to disperse the pigment finely and uniformly because of insolubility of the pigment, resulting in poor keeping quality. Further water is liable to be vaporized, so that the ink is liable to choke the emitting part of the ink in an ink-jet machine.